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Destruction of the Hometree
The Destruction of The Hometree was a major battle on Pandora that occurred on August 20, 2154. It was an attempt by the Resources Development Administration to force the Omaticaya clan from their settlement at Hometree, which resulted in its destruction. Prologue Following the destruction of the Tree of Voices by the RDA, which Jake Sully attempted to halt by destroying the cameras of an RDA bulldozer in his avatar form, his human form was apprehended by Miles Quaritch at Jake's link module in the Hallelujah Mountains. He was brought back to Hell's Gate along with the rest of the personnel there. Despite Dr. Grace Augustine's attempt to explain the biological importance of the Tree to both Quaritch and RDA administrator Parker Selfridge, the latter authorized an operation to forcibly remove the Omaticaya from Hometree after witnessing a video log in which a disheartened Jake bluntly asserted that negotiations would lead nowhere, as the humans had nothing that could tempt the Na'vi to leave their home. When the clan retaliated for the attack on the Tree of Voices by destroying the bulldozers and killing the human soldiers, Quaritch and Selfridge decided to use this incident to justify their plan to destroy Hometree. Quaritch launched a massive fleet of Samson and Scorpion aircraft, along with his Dragon Assault Ship, towards Hometree. At Hell's Gate, Grace and Jake managed to convince Selfridge to give them a chance to talk the Omaticaya out, rather than allowing a massacre that would look very bad for the RDA's record back on Earth. Selfridge reluctantly agreed, granting the pair one hour in their avatars to persuade the Na'vi. Back in Hometree, Jake warned the clan of the coming assault and chose to admit to them that he was assigned by the RDA to learn their ways, in order to persuade them to leave their home. The clan was enraged when he revealed that he was aware of the RDA's plan to destroy Hometree. Neytiri, devastated by this revelation, furiously denounced Jake in her betrayed grief, angrily screaming "You will never be one of The People!" to an ashamed Jake, and Eytukan ordered both Jake and Grace to be bound. RDA Forces Strike Hometree After binding Jake and Grace outside Hometree, the Omaticaya warriors, prepared to defend their home, awaited the arrival of the RDA fleet. Despite repeated warnings from the two captives to flee into the woods, Tsu'tey ordered the Omaticaya warriors to stand their ground, and Eytukan told him to take some Ikran Maktos into the tree and attack the fleet from above. Quaritch, seeing the restrained avatars with knives held to their throats, declared that diplomacy had failed, and ordered the gunships to fire gas rounds into the settlement. In spite of the gas attack, the Omaticaya warriors, determined not to abandon their home, stood their ground and, on orders by Eytukan, opened fire on the RDA fleet with bows and arrows in an effort to pierce the fleet's armored windows, to no effect. An amused Quaritch ordered the fleet to switch to incendiary rounds and then to open fire, causing immense damage to the settlement and engulfing Hometree in flames. Eytukan, realizing that his warriors stood no chance against the human weaponry, ordered everyone to flee into the woods. Although the Omaticaya were already fleeing, Quaritch, apparently wanting to send some kind of a message, then ordered the fleet to switch to high-explosive missiles, and then target the outer columns of the tree, recalling the information that Jake had provided to him regarding the tree's structure months earlier. With his order, "bring it down," Hometree was bombarded with an immense amount of firepower, destroying its outer columns and killing scores of Omaticaya. A shard of wood sent flying by the explosions impaled Eytukan, who was evacuating the Na'vi that were still inside Hometree from the flames. Jake and Grace, still bound, were freed by Mo'at, who begged Jake to help the clan. As the firing commenced, Trudy Chacon, disgusted by Quaritch's methods, broke formation and disengaged, claiming that she "didn't sign up" for such activities. Nonetheless, the Hometree, having sustained enormous structural damage, faltered and then collapsed, killing yet more Na'vi as it did so, with the Ikran Maktos led by Tsu'tey departing from its branches just in time. The surviving Omaticaya watched in disbelief and despair. Neytiri wept as Eytukan gave her his bow and told her to protect the people, before succumbing to his wounds. Meanwhile, a satisfied Quaritch commended the fleet for its work and then ordered them back to Hell's Gate, where the science team watched the destruction in horror, and an unsettled Parker Selfridge ordered the security personnel to sever the link to Jake and Grace's avatars. Despite Norm Spellman's attempt to stop them, both links were severed. Jake's avatar, told to leave and never come back by an inconsolable Neytiri, as well as Grace's, who was fleeing with Mo'at, both collapsed. Aftermath Following the battle, the now homeless Omaticaya clan fled to the Tree of Souls, which was now their only refuge. Jake, Grace and Norm were all placed in detention at Hell's Gate, but were freed by Trudy Chacon, who flew them to the Hallelujah Mountains. There, they retrieved an avatar relay module before setting down near the Tree of Souls. Dr. Augustine was mortally wounded in the escape, and despite Sully's attempt to save her through a consciousness transfer after becoming Toruk Makto and regaining the Omaticaya's trust, she died. Sully then began gathering a massive Na'vi force, leading to the Assault on the Tree of Souls and the RDA's defeat and expulsion from Pandora. de:Zerstörung des Heimatbaums pl:Zniszczenie Drzewa-Domu Category:Events Category:Avatar